2026 Projects
Improvisation Classes - Bradley Ward
Facilitating regular weekly improv classes and workshops building towards the staging of a small improv festival in Illawarra theatres.
Court of Clouds - David Rientis
David Resident and illustrator Lisa completed their gaming rulebook and produced a video for their (analogue/printed) Court of Clouds board game. They have received preliminary orders from countries such as France, Japan, the UK and Australia. If you want to see more - or order a copy yourself, follow the link below. A fun and unique project which we hope will put the Illawarra on the map for gamers
Bottega Films - Hawks Documentary
The documentary is in production with Gerado Ceres putting the finishing touches before it is released.
Recently Gerado spoke to Region Illawarra online news asking for photos which include Polaroids taken at any of the games since 1981 or similar artifacts and memorabilia, anything that would bring back precious memories of a particular game. CBW members and Hawks fans can contact Gerado via Bottega Films or through the production’s Instagram page.
Young Writers Collective - Helena Fox
The Young Writers Collective’s third anthology, Untestable Questions, created, edited and designed by members of the Collective, successfully launched on Friday 24 July, in Thirroul as part of the South Coast Readers and Writers Festival.
The anthology launch event featured poetry and prose readings by Nic Cathcart, Kit Fox, Holly Haisman, Ray Lee, Rhys Lorenc, Kirsty McInnes, Rebecca Monteleone, Jamilla Ravel and Katie Short and showcased 'distinct voices' of a remarkable group of emerging writers.
The Young Writers Collective is a workshop-based writing group for young adult writers from the Illawarra and hopes that this will be an annual event. The Collective, especially YWC co-founders, Rhys Lorenc and Helena Fox, were very grateful to receive a grant from CBW for the publication of the anthology. It meant they could cover all their print costs, help pay the editors and designer, and pay all the contributors.
In publicising the launch and the anthology, the YWC has made sure to thank the CBW for their generous support and belief in the project. The Collective looks forward to creating another anthology next year!
Emerging Young Writers Collective — South Coast Writers Centre
Bogan Bird - Holly Would Company
Bogan Bird was submitted to 25 film festivals around the world with help from CBW funding. Off the back of the success of the screening at the London Australia Film Festival (LAFF) a few weeks ago (photo attached with Holly and local residents Jasmin and Catherine), Bogan Bird is screening again in London on the 25th of August at the London Kino Open Screen night, and also at Far South Film Festival in Merimbula on the 15th of August.
Holly tells us she loves seeing how audiences react, especially international audiences in the Q&As asking questions like 'Is the bogan bird real? Do you really have those in Australia?', for which the answer is yes, it's very much based off a real miner bird she met in Wollongong, which has been animated and brought to life.
"We hope this local regional story keeps transcending the globe, even if they can't quite understand our slang just yet, because I think it's really important for global audiences to see our authentic Australian culture on screen.”
The film’s Instagram account is @boganbird, Holly’s Instagram is @hollywoodtrenaman, and her production company Hollywould Co is on Instagram too.
Project Q - James Brendon Windle
What happens when fashion, visual art, performance and a vintage shop come together?
You get an immersive creative experience unlike anything else.
The Project Q team created a one-night-only experimental fashion show that celebrates local creativity in unexpected ways.
Indigenous Film Festival - Screen Illawarra
CBW is proud to have sponsored the inaugural First Nations Film Festival held at the Gala Cinema Warrawong. The films were shown across three days in mid July. The film festival filled a gap in local creative culture which will continue in future years. Congratulations and thank you to CBW members for helping make this event happen. We look forward to the festival growing each year.
First Nations Film Festival | Screen Illawarra
The Dire Theatre Company – Write About Now Micro Festival
Write About Now is designed to create a space where the Wollongong community can actively participate in shaping the cultural invites people to contribute writing, ideas, and performances that respond directly to the world they are living in right now.
Through voices can be spoken on stage by actors, the project lowers barriers to participation and gives people multiple ways to engage What excites us most about this project is the way it treats culture as something built collectively. Installations throughout the festival anger, hope, and imagination.
By the end of the festival, the space will literally be shaped by the voices of the people who entered emerging writers to established artists and community members who may not normally see themselves represented in arts spaces.
Write About Now also strengthens connections between local arts organisations. The Dire Theatre Company is already working bringing together theatre-makers, poets, and writers under one shared program. This collaboration allows the festival to reach across